Open Patella Knee Brace
Neo Sports Lab’s AllyFlex Sports Open Patella Knee Brace is among the best knee braces for patella stabilization. Owing to its unique design and premium quality material, plus the extra CoolMax skin layer for cool and comfortable wear, our unisex open patella knee brace has become the most popular product for patella knee protection for men and women.
What is Open Patella Knee Brace?
As the name suggests, an open patella knee brace is a neoprene brace with an opening on kneecap and an enforced ring around the opening that serves as a stabilizer to hold the patella in the proper place during activities like walking, running, or squatting.
If you have kneecap pain or suffered a dislocated patella, the open patella knee brace is a good option to help keep the patella in the proper position. Other conditions like patellofemoral pain syndrome, knee arthritis, or chondromalacia patella(CMP) may also benefit from the use of an open patella knee brace. Be sure to talk to your doctor or physical therapist to be sure you are using the patella brace for your condition.
Besides the open patella knee brace, there is another type of patella knee brace – closed patella braces. A closed patella stabilizer knee brace has no holes. Braces with an open patella allow relief of knee pressure and extra knee cap support with proper movement and tracking. Closed patella braces, on the other hand, offer compression at the knee cap with the same pressure as the rest of the knee and additional support.
What Does an Open Patella Knee Brace Do?
An open patella knee brace can serve many functions depending on the specific problem for which it is being used. Some injuries that may require the use of an open patella knee brace include:
- Patellar dislocation: If you have suffered a dislocated patella (kneecap), a brace can help keep the patella in the proper place during walking, running and athletic activity. A patellar control devise like NeoAlly Sports Open Patella Knee Brace should be used for this condition.
- Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) sprain: After knee surgery like a meniscus tear repair or an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) repair, a good knee brace can help stabilize the joint. Initially, a Bledsoe brace is worn. After some healing has taken place, an open patella knee brace can be worn during athletic activity.
- Patellar Tendonitis and chondromalacia patellae (CMP): Patellar tendonitis is a painful condition in the front of your knee. Many patients with this condition benefit from a patella knee brace stabilizer with a J-pad in the front to gently lift the patella.
- Arthritis: People with knee osteoarthritis sometimes benefit from an open patella knee brace. This helps to unload the joint surfaces of your knee.
How to choose an open patella knee brace?
When choose a patella knee brace, the following factors need to be put into consideration:
- Open or closed: Closed patella knee braces can sometimes cause or aggravate knee injuries by applying pressure to the patella during a workout and causing it to move off-center, or rub against the underlying joint. Many open patella braces are designed specifically to support the patella as a secondary benefit, holding it in proper alignment relative to the rest of the knee joint. Open patella braces provide slightly less support than closed patella braces, so powerlifters and bodybuilders often favor the closed design. Athletes in more active sports often favor open patella braces for their lightness and flexibility.
- More support or less support: Most patella stabilizer knee braces are made from neoprene material. Since neoprene varies in thickness, strength-ability, elasticity, and durability, the patella knee brace also varies in levels of support. In general, the thicker the brace is, the better support it has. The compression straps also make difference in the knee support level, and the quality and design of the ring around patella is another key factor in patella knee support.
- Breathable or not? Some patella stabilizer knee braces are made of perforated neoprene while other are not. The perforated neoprene, which has small holes on the material, allows heat evaporate through those holes and thus keeps the brace dry.
- Comfortable fit: A better designed patella stabilizer knee brace makes tightly snug around knee and comfortable to wear. This is very true when wear the brace for intensive activities such as running, hiking, or cycling.
open patella knee brace for knee support
